


What's in a Name?

by Skry_Cat



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Comfort, I know I used proper relationship convention this time, I write sweet delicious fluff with trans people in this ficlet ok?, NOT MAXVID, Trans Characters, Trans!Max, almost forgot that one, binders, bro I still don't know how to tag, but I still feel a need to say this, dadvid, oh yeah, rated for Max's general lack of the ability to speak like a gentleman, trans!david
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 15:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14168007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skry_Cat/pseuds/Skry_Cat
Summary: David thinks Max is swell. (I don't hecking know what to write here for this one without spoiling things)





	What's in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna just say now: I'm not trans. I'm writing this from a prompt by some friends. I'm operating solely on my experience from crossplaying characters at conventions and not from real transgender experience. Please be gentle as you read/judge this in light of that.   
> You've been warned.

            His breath was already short before he’d even finished getting ready for school. Max dropped his backpack by the bed and went to stand in front of the mirror. Even pulling the shirt off caused a string of pain to lance around his torso, just below his arms. He winced, dropped the shirt and went to loosen the binder. His brows knit. It was already fastened as far as he could allow without tearing the fabric.

            It had been easy to get his first binder. His parents never paid attention to him. It had been an easy matter squirrelling away spare dollars and change nicked from their wallets. He’d given the money to a friend at his old school, who then bought the binder online and secreted it to him. But now he was hitting a growth spurt and he wasn’t sure how easy it would be to pull the same trick with David.

            Or if he wanted to pull the same trick with David.

            Sighing, he adjusted himself, trying his best to get the binder to work. It just had to hold a little longer until he could figure out how to get a new one. He bit his lip, already feeling several sore spots and the biting pain at the edges. His eyes started to well. He didn’t want to go to school. It was too hot to wear a hoodie. He had nothing…well…there was the medical tape.

            Dropping the binder, he slipped on his shirt and snuck out into the hallway closet. Rifling through the first aid kit, he found the tape and crept back to his room. He’d done this a few times before, but that had been when he was smaller, easier to conceal. Now he was thirteen and growing fast. He bit his lip, working fast. He could just use a little and wear the binder over it. That would have to work for –

            “Max…?”

            The tape dropped to the ground, rolling under the bed. Max felt his limbs deaden as his head cleared of all rational thought. He clutched for his shirt, covering himself as he spun around and backed up against the mirror. “David! What the fuck? Get out of my room!”

            David’s eyes dropped to Max’s half covered torso and his jaw dropped a fraction. He had wondered why Max asked to keep his own records in his room when they underwent the full legal adoption. He figured it was just Max asserting his individuality from him despite being technically adopted. The reality seemed so much more…understandable. His gaze shifted back to the panicked, angry look in Max’s eyes. “I said get out!”

            “You shouldn’t bind like that…it’s not good for long time periods.”

            The boy’s cheeks flushed with mixed rage and embarrassment. Max scrambled to try and find something else to cover with before fully intending to shove David out of the room by force if he kept standing there. “The hell do you know? Just get the hell out!”

            Just as Max started shoving at David’s arm though, David stopped him. He was still tall enough to hold Max back with a hand to the forehead while he untucked his shirt from his pajama pants. Max staggered back, preparing a well articulated string of swear words for David if he really intended to flash him just then. But then he saw the edge of something familiar and his words died in his throat.

            “I think I have a few ideas,” David said quietly as he let his shirt drop again.

            Max’s eyes rose shakily to meet David’s gaze. “David, you…?”

            David nodded. “Yup. And I can tell you from experience that that method will leave you with sores that hurt to touch for days and scars that last for years.”

            The boy pulled back the shirt to look down at the half finished tape job. He really was at a loss for words here. There was too much to think about at seven AM. David glanced about the room, searching. “Is…is that what you’ve been doing all this time?”

            Max huffed, resigning himself to just pulling the shirt on for the time being. “No. I had an old binder; it doesn’t fit anymore.”

            Finally, David saw the binder in question peeking out from under the bed. “I see. And – did anyone ever explain to you about safe methods.”

            “Just google,” Max muttered, going to sit on the bed.

            “I’ll be right back.”

            While his adopted father left, Max made quick work of getting rid of the tape. It already hurt just to peel it off after a few minutes. It would have been hell to wait until four to take it off. He sniffled, finally getting the chance to realize what had just happened. He’d tripped out of his closet and David had met him coming out of another closet. That certainly wasn’t what he expected when he woke up that morning.

            David returned, holding a skin-toned binder. “It’s from a while back, so it won’t last long. I washed it. It should work until we can get the right one for you,” he said as he offered it to Max. “Take it into the bathroom. I’ll coach you on how to put it on from the hall.”

 

 

            That old binder still hadn’t fit quite right. It was on the large side. But it had served its purpose back then. David whistled happily as he prepared the final touches on Max’s birthday cake. He would be home from school any minute and David wanted everything to be perfect. The cake was really just a side project compared to the present that currently sat, perfectly wrapped, on the table. Which was a good thing, since the cake decoration left much to be desired.

            And then Max finally walked in and David spun around with a smile. “Welcome home, Max! Happy Birthday!”

            He still looked genuinely surprised – as he did every birthday since being adopted. But then he smiled, dropped his backpack and went to check on the cake’s progression. “You already said that this morning, idiot.”

            David just kept humming as he turned to finish up the cake. Max walked by the present, giving it a suspicious side-eye. It didn’t look very impressive. It just looked like a plain clothing box. “Finally feel like you know me well enough to just get me socks?”

            He earned a chuckle in reply. “Why don’t you open it and find out?”

            Max turned his suspicious gaze on David, who wasn’t turning around from his work. That was weird. But he complied, slowly and cautiously ripping away the paper and opening the box. He flinched, expecting – something – to happen. But instead, there were just a few pieces of paper perched atop some blue and white tissue paper.

            He only had to read a few lines before his eyes widened. “David…you…”

            “I hope you don’t mind I did this. I had to wait until I was eighteen and left the house to do it. I didn’t want you to have to wait that long.”

            David finally turned around, cleaning off his hands with a towel. Max was frozen in front of the present and a tear slid down his cheek. Of all the things he’d thought David would do, legally changing his name hadn’t even occurred to him.

            “The laws won’t allow for a legal sex change unless you undergo physical operation, but I didn’t want to assume you’d want that,” David continued, getting quieter, worried about Max’s reaction at that point.

            Max’s eyes scanned down the page one more time. It was real, it was really real. According to the government his name was now –

            “Maxwell? David, what the fuck? Maxwell!”

            David blinked and stuttered. “Well, I mean…it’s just…you’re Max and to me you’re pretty swell. So…Maxwell.”

            Max wanted to be mad. He wanted to be so mad that his new name was a pun. But he just couldn’t muster it. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he couldn’t manage a single cuss word as he threw the box top down and bolted into David’s arms with his face buried in his chest. He didn’t want to admit that he felt something so profoundly happy at having David pick his proper male name.

            He just clutched on tight to his adopted father and let silent tears of joy stream down his face. “Thanks – you fucking idiot.”

            David sighed in relief and held onto his son. This was perfect.

           


End file.
